by Jacqueline Marino
ver the loud
hum of the air conditioner, James Glennard Robinson sweats through an interview
in his dim, cluttered office at the Memphis Housing Authority. Wearing a
pastel leisure suit and chunky gold rings on his fingers, Robinson speaks
slowly and authoritatively. Sitting behind a desk, he seems much larger
than 5 feet, 9 inches -- especially when he's aggravated.
And being asked about his 1997 Cadillac really fans his temper.
"I
could drive anything and that doesn't necessarily make it mine," says
Robinson, the MHA's top tenant leader and public-housing resident since
1987. "I don't think that's none of their business."
But some residents who elected Robinson president of the Citywide Residents Council have reason to believe Robinson has gained more from his position than the joys of civil service. Among other things, residents and observers have accused Robinson of keeping another residence and not disclosing all his income to MHA, to whom he pays $150 a month for a five-bedroom apartment. That's 30 percent of his reported family income minus deductions, as required by federal law.
"If I had to rate him on a scale of one to 10, he'd get a zero," says Michael Rosenberg, acting president of Hawkins Mill Apartments in Frayser. "He's riding around in a Cadillac and wearing big diamond rings . It's like we're being oppressed by Robinson. We're being kept down because of him."
Two years after pleading guilty to stealing funds earmarked for public-housing residents, Robinson still leads the people he robbed, about 97 percent of whom are women and children. Being the representative of 30,000 public-housing residents gives Robinson, 44, clout with legislators and businesses focused on low-income communities, which he's used to his own advantage over the years. Since he was elected in 1990, Robinson has been hired as a 30-hour-a-week consultant in Nashville, had an expensive car to drive, traveled extensively, and enjoyed other benefits as a direct result of his volunteer position as citywide president.
"By the way, all this jewelry, designer suits, handmade shoes, I bought all that because I got a job. I work every day. I make around $75,000 a year," Robinson told a group of probationers during a counseling session in Judge Joe Brown's courtroom. Parts of his speech aired on Court TV on January 9, 1996.
While Robinson has personally benefited over the last few years, public-housing conditions have become so dangerous and deteriorated that an Office of Inspector General audit report has criticized MHA for "not fulfilling its primary mission of providing decent, safe, and sanitary housing for low-income families." The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is presently considering whether to take over the management of MHA's maintenance and modernization departments.
Yet Robinson says public-housing residents in Memphis don't have it as bad as HUD makes it sound.
"Let me tell you, it's not as bad as Cabrini Green [in Chicago], where everytime you walk out the door gunshots are going off, somebody's being shot, stepping over dead bodies going in and out of the buildings. You got people stacked on top of each other 20 stories high. No, no, public housing is not as bad as [pause] I was reading an article the other day that said the Chicago housing authority had a two-year backlog on maintenance requests."
Broke and Raggedy
In Robinson's office, there's a "no smoking" sign for every ashtray and a volume of the Code of Federal Regulations on his desk. Before he cuts the interview short (and fails to return many subsequent paged messages from the Flyer), Robinson does answer several questions.
Although he does not explain why he has a Memphis Light, Gas, & Water account at a house located at 1090 Richland Drive in Whitehaven, he says he does not live there. Robinson knows the names of the house's last owners, Kenneth J. Robinson and Jessyca F. Mosby, and says they are no relation to him. HUD took over the deed March 3rd. Ben Davis, director of the local HUD office, says the house is vacant. But MLGW records show Robinson has not closed an account he's had there since 1994. He listed his employer as J.R. Productions and owes the utility company $424.51.
The Cadillac is owned by a rental-car company in Nashville, where Robinson works as a consultant for the advertising/marketing firm White-Richards & Associates. That agency represents Access...MedPlus, a managed-care organization (MCO) which has TennCare contracts and which recruits enrollees in public housing. While Robinson is on the payroll at White-Richards -- a private company that has declined to divulge details of his employment -- Robinson says he has done consulting work for Access...MedPlus and others.
"[I consult with them on] issues pertaining to poor folks," he says. "Basically, I think I'm a wealth of information on a lot of things. The political tone in a community, not just here but throughout the state and nation. I'm consulted by a lot of folks.
"At some given time I need to lead by example," he continues. "I need to have income to pay Memphis Housing Authority's rent. I need to be able to show when I tell residents that `You can do better'? What good does it do for me to say, `You can do better.' And then they say, `You tell us you can do better and you walk around here broke and raggedy.' I mean you got to practice what you preach. A bald man can't sell me no hair tonic."
In January 1990, Robinson was an unemployed minister and vice president of the Cypresswood Apartments tenants' association when he called for an investigation of the citywide council's election and financial practices. By February, Robinson had unseated former president Verline Mayo in a controversial election where various resident association bylaws were in dispute.
The top officers of the individual associations comprise the citywide council, whose purpose is to relay resident concerns to MHA and help residents improve their living conditions, according to the bylaws. Members of the Citywide Residents Council elect officers from their ranks.
A former
member of the activist group Coalition of Benevolent Youth and former Mayor
Dick Hackett's Housing Advisory Task Force, Robinson brought a wealth of
housing experience with him to the council's top post.
However, Robinson's credibility was questioned by The Commercial Appeal soon after the election when he misrepresented his educational background to a reporter. Robinson told the CA he attended Tennessee State University and American Baptist Theological Seminary, both in Nashville. But TSU had no record of his attendance, and the seminary's records showed Robinson only attended one semester of classes through an extension program in Memphis.
Robinson has said he is a minister in the Baptist Church, but he has not provided proof he was ever ordained. His employer's report at MHA says he worked as a minister at Zion Hill Baptist Church in 1988 and 1989.
Former MHA executive director Cary Woods asked Robinson to step down from his citywide council position in 1991 when Robinson was indicted for stealing tenant funds. According to Jerry Williams, MHA's former security director, an internal investigation revealed the disappearance of about $3,500 in tenant funds. Former resident leader George Elam accused Robinson of cashing a check intended for Elam's Lauderdale Courts resident association. During the course of the investigation, Williams says he learned of other checks Robinson had cashed.
"Robinson was paying zero rent. He had no income and he was very imposing," says Williams, who has recently been awarded more than $47,000 in a wrongful firing lawsuit he brought against MHA (MHA has appealed the decision). "I felt some council members were afraid of him and intimidated by him."
But Robinson refused to resign. He has said that his wife accidently cashed Elam's check and that he has since repaid Elam. However, the case lingered in criminal court until Robinson pleaded guilty to theft of under $500 in 1995. He paid a $100 fine and court costs.
Assistant District Attorney Glen Baity says the state agreed to reduce the charge to a misdemeanor because Elam, an elderly man who was its chief witness, died before the case could go to trial.
"He's a thief," Baity says. "What puzzled me is this involved the theft of federal funds, but the feds chose not to prosecute.I was clearly convinced of his guilt."
But Robinson's attorney, Lewis Garrison, says Robinson cashed the checks after receiving a letter from Woods permitting him to use the money for other tenant needs.
"We felt we could win this thing," Garrison says. "But they finally wore us out."
MHA provides tenant associations with funds earned in a savings account where residents' security deposits are placed. Last year, $5,024.72 was dispersed to the associations according to the number of apartments in each development. Internal auditor Irvin Marshall says he is presently conducting a routine audit of the funds.
MHA Executive Director Jerome Ryans says Robinson no longer has access to the checks of other tenant leaders.
In addition to pleading guilty to theft in 1995, Robinson has been arrested for writing bad checks several times since 1984. In 1991, he was indicted for theft of under $500 for not returning rented merchandise from Video Shack. The case was dropped in 1995. In his appearance on Court TV, Robinson also said he used to be a pimp.
Robinson's criminal record has had few, if any, long-term effects on his leadership. In fact, some say Robinson's clout has increased too much over the years. At a staff retreat in 1995, senior staff members complained about the influence Robinson had over MHA operations.
"Nothing was discussed more," says MHA board member Mike Ritz, "They said he abused the senior people by talking down to them, he used the office for personal business, and that he smoked in the building."
In September 1995, the board extended a one-year contract offer to Ryans, outlining several concerns, including that some employees felt Robinson actually ran the housing authority.
"There's no truth in that," Ryans says. "You have to work closely with resident leadership. People don't understand that without residents we wouldn't be working. HUD has made it clear residents must have input. I like the idea of resident input, I get more information from resident leaders than I do from my managers."
Just A Public-Housing Resident
Propped against the wall in his office, Robinson keeps a framed, autographed picture of his hero, Jack Kemp. The former secretary of HUD was a steadfast supporter of tenant involvement in the public-housing policy process. In a waiver kept in his MHA file, Robinson, a married father of eight, has directed MHA to contact Kemp, a "friend," to dispose of his personal property in case of his death.
"I'm nobody. I'm just a public-housing resident," Robinson says. "Who better to address a position than the people who're in it. All the people hired to run the housing authority go back to the suburbs when it's 4:30 p.m."
Being the recognized leader of 30,000 low- to moderate-income people has given Robinson some influence in Washington, where he has met with House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and in the state legislature, where he goes to lobby on a variety of issues.
Although council bylaws prohibit the council from "attempting to influence legislation," Robinson has pushed for legislation dealing with TennCare, welfare reform, and most recently a bill in the state legislature that would give MHA security officers the same authority as law-enforcement officers.
State Representative Larry Miller, who has three public-housing developments in his district, says Robinson has become known in Nashville as an outspoken advocate for public-housing residents.
"He's like a pit bull. Once he catches hold of something he doesn't want to let go," Miller says. "When he comes up here he raises some hell. No, he raises a lot of hell.He's certainly an intelligent and learned man and he understands the system."
In Robinson's office, there are copies of federal grants, HUD regulations, and housing journal articles. Besides reading about public-housing policy, Robinson also keeps himself up to date by traveling to conferences all over the country on MHA's nickel.
Concerned that Robinson was the only tenant attending out-of-town conferences, board member Ritz says he introduced a resolution specifically to restrict Robinson's travel. The resolution, passed in November 1996, limits any one resident's travel expenses in a one-year period to $2,500. From March 1996 to March 1997, MHA paid $5,202 for Robinson to attend several conferences in Washington, Orlando, and St. Louis. In comparison, Ryans' travel costs during the same period amounted to $6,559.
Ryans
says Robinson brings information from the conferences back to the tenants.
"He is one of the strongest resident leaders in the country," Ryans says. "He's not a perfect person, but I will say this: In terms of working for residents, he's the best there is."
Robinson says he's proud of what he's accomplished for residents in the last seven years. He says he's forged "a good, strong working relationship" with MHA and HUD and helped develop training programs for residents, including a health outreach training program funded by Access...MedPlus.
Anthony Cebrun, chair of Medical Care Management Company, parent company of Access...MedPlus, says the training program Robinson helped design is now functional in other cities throughout the state. He says he does not know if the company provides Robinson with a car or travel expenses. Ervina Jarrett, Access...MedPlus assistant vice president of community affairs, declined to comment on Robinson's relationship to the company.
"I have nothing but respect and admiration for him," says Cebrun. "This man is responsible for helping people across the United States. There's at least 100 people who are no longer on welfare because of him."
Ryans says he doesn't think Robinson's involvement with Access...MedPlus, which has the largest TennCare enrollment of any MCO in Memphis, is inappropriate. He says other TennCare managed-care companies, who compete with Access...MedPlus for enrollees, also recruit in public housing.
"But as far as I'm concerned, Tennessee Managed Care Network [Access...MedPlus] is the only MCO that's done anything to help residents," Ryans says.
Doing Something
The May meeting of the Citywide Residents Council starts 45 minutes late. The seven people present are 13 fewer than the quorum required by the bylaws. And there are no minutes from the previous meetings. Robinson forges ahead anyway. Even when he's running a meeting, Robinson has a charismatic, preachy style. During the course of the meeting, he drifts off the topic at hand and occasionally pounds a fist on the table, delivering short sermons about welfare reform, security, and other issues.
In the middle of discussing the need for stipends for resident leaders, Robinson glances down at his beeper and heads for the door.
"Excuse me a moment," he says. "The congressman's [Harold Ford Jr.] calling me."
Robinson often acts as if he has more important things to do than deal with concerns of residents, says Vatricia McKinney, representative of Oates Manor, which has not had an elected president for two years. At one meeting, she wanted to talk to him about scheduling an election for her development, but she says he told her he had to take the congressman to the airport. "Maybe he helps people in other developments, but in Oates Manor he hasn't done anything," says McKinney. "I've called him several times and he said if I wasn't a resident president he couldn't help me.If he's president he should stay in Memphis instead of Nashville or any other place he's run to."
"I talk to residents every day," Robinson counters. "I think you'll find more people who'll say I'm always out there fighting and trying to do something.I always say I must be doing something right because folks are bitching. I'm being honest. He who does nothing has a perfectly satisfied audience. I've always espoused the fact that at least I'm doing something."
"He doesn't do anything for the tenants," says former citywide president Verline Mayo. "I can't even get him on the telephone when I need some answers."
Some residents say Robinson keeps other leaders from threatening his leadership by manipulating them.
Hawkins Mill resident leader Rosenberg, one of Robinson's harshest critics on the council, says Robinson once pretended to have information about Rosenberg's criminal record that could get him thrown out of public housing.
"Once James Robinson pops up everybody stops talking about him," Rosenberg says. "He had no record on me. He was just trying to scare me."
"He's been around long enough to pry into everyone's business and know everyone's secrets so they can't stand up to him," Mayo says. "It's a terrible situation."
When asked about the job Robinson is doing as council president, council members had varied responses. Veteran tenant leader Myrtice Askew, the council's first vice president and president of Cleaborn Homes, declined comment. Montgomery Plaza president Christine Pipkins says Robinson is "nice" and "responsive."
Foote Homes president Larry Baldwin says "I don't know. I don't like to say nothing bad about nobody. But if I were the president, I'd do things differently."
Mary Parker, president of Paul Borda Towers, says she hasn't been to the council meetings in about a year, but Robinson seems "all right to me."
In the last several years, Robinson has fostered a cooperative relationship between the resident association and MHA, going so far as to refer to the independent citywide council as "an Affiliate of the Memphis Housing Authority" on the council's letterhead.
"Robinson was a professional public-housing resident who appeared to benefit from being in public housing and taking a leadership role," says Kenneth Whalum Jr., former chair of MHA's board of commissioners. "He was a gadfly of sorts, taking positions not in the best interest of the residents. He appeared to be an opportunist."
On many publicized tenant-MHA disputes, Robinson has been criticized for siding with the tenants' landlord instead of the tenants.
* In 1994 Robinson publicly lambasted residents Clara Calvert, Cheryl D. Webber, and Elener Vinson for filing a lawsuit against MHA for failing to maintain public housing, rehabilitate vacant apartments, and follow eviction and repair regulations, among other charges. Robinson said MHA was in the process of addressing the problems, which he blamed on the aged housing stock and a lack of funds, rather than the agency's mismanagement. The suit was settled out of court last year when MHA agreed to make sweeping changes to several areas of operation, including maintenance, lead abatement, and security.
The residents were represented by attorney Richard Fields, who won a civil-rights lawsuit against MHA in the Eighties that required the agency to stop concentrating public-housing residents in predominantly black areas.
"I believe he's a crook, to which he's pled guilty," Fields says of Robinson. "He misrepresents poor people. And I also believe Mr. Ryans knows exactly what he's doing. He uses him as a front for HUD, so that it seems like poor people have input at MHA."
* When marijuana residue and drug paraphernalia were discovered in the apartment of Alice Neal, president of the Walter Simmons Estates' tenant association, Robinson supported MHA's decision to evict her according to the "one-strike you're out" policy.
"All of us are elected to lead by example," Robinson said then. "I wholeheartedly support the concept of one strike you're out. Drug-dealing wreaks havoc on our communities."
A criminal case against Neal was dismissed, but a General Sessions court ruled in MHA's favor. Her eviction is currently on appeal in circuit court.
* Robinson has stalwartly defended MHA during the past few months in the wake of heightened criticism. In addition to the inspector general's critical audit of the agency, MHA recently discovered it was in danger of losing a $47 million HOPE VI grant to redevelop LeMoyne Gardens. HUD said MHA's revitalization plan for the development was unacceptable.
"MHA has done everything it was supposed to do for HOPE VI," he says. "If they lose it, they would lose it because of one or two commissioners on the board and the city. Commissioner Mike Ritz delayed implementation and the city was dragging its feet on some things."
According to Robinson's latest employment report, signed by White Richard's comptroller, Larry Tate, Robinson's hours have been cut back so he can devote more time to his volunteer leadership position. Perhaps Robinson has chosen to spend more time at his volunteer position because it is closer to his long-term aspirations.
"My dream is I'd like to run a public-housing agency," Robinson says. "I don't mean in the sense of setting rules, I mean in the sense of delivering service to the clients the agency was created to serve."
Or perhaps there are other reasons, as some observers have suggested.
"If I'm a man and I'm able-bodied, I'm going to try to get out of public housing," says former MHA chair Whalum. "Unless there's a real good reason for me to stay."